Understand The MCAT Scoring System

Average MCAT Scores Accepted in the LAST Five Years

MCAT or The Medical College Admission Test is
an examination that
candidates aspiring to study in premiere medical colleges of USA or
Canada have to appear for. It comprises
3 parts designed to test your skills to critically analyze given
situations, as well as, your knowledge of Chemistry, Physics and
Biology. However, before you appear for the examination it will help if
you know how MCAT is scored and the average test score
that you will require to get admission in good medical schools. The
following section discusses the scoring system used in the examination.

Know Your MCAT Score

Most medical schools, when considering your
admission application,
will not only consider your overall MCAT score but also the score that
you have received in each section of the examination. It consists of 4
parts which are as follows:

Physical Sciences (PS)

Biological Sciences (BS)

Verbal Reasoning (VR)

Writing Sample (WS)

The combined test score is the sum
total of all the marks that you receive in the first 3 sections of MCAT
along with the grade that you have received for the writing section of
the examination. The first three parts consist of multiple choice
questions where you can score maximum 45 marks. The essay section is
graded by both an examiner and computer and your grades can range from
'J' to 'T'. Hence, the maximum test score that you can receive is '45T'.

Here, a point to be remembered is that a good
score is not sufficient; you will have to get the cut-off marks
required for each section of the test
for your application to be considered. If you do well in one section
and poorly in others, but the sum of the marks of all sections of MCAT
result in the required score, then also your application can get
rejected because you did not achieve the cut–off marks required for
each section. Thus, you should give equal importance to all sections of
the examination.

If your average score is around 30
then you have a good chance of getting admission in a good medical
school. If your score is between 34 and 36 then you can get in the
premiere medical schools of USA. A score of 36 and above will ensure
your admission in the top few medical schools.

If your score is not good enough then you
should consider retaking
the test. However, if you wish to retake the test then you should be
confident that your average test
score will increase by at least 3 to 5 points. The medical schools will
have access to all your previous MCATs. So if your score has not
increased sufficiently then appearing for multiple MCATs will have a
negative impact on your application.

However, a good score is not
sufficient. You should also have a good GPA to support your MCAT score.
If you have received a GPA of 3.5 and a good enough test score
then you can be assured that your admission application will receive
due consideration. If your GPA is a little below 3.5 but your average
score
is good enough and you believe that your application is strong enough
then too your application will receive its due consideration.

But, before you apply to any college you
should know the average
MCAT and GPA score that you require for applying in the colleges of
your choice. Some of the MCAT and GPA scores required by medical
schools of USA are given in the following section.

Scores Required by Some Medical Schools

Although a good test score along
with a high GPA will ensure your admission in good medical schools, yet
it is better to know their requirement before applying. The score
requirements of some colleges (as of the last five years) are as
follows:

If you want to get admission in Harvard University College of
Medicine then your average score for each section of MCAT should be
11.9, total MCAT score 35.6 and GPA of 3.4.

If you want to get admission in Stanford University College of
Medicine then your average score for each section of MCAT should be
11.0, total MCAT score 33.0 and GPA of 3.7.

If you want to get admission in University of California – San
Francisco then your average score for each section of MCAT should be
11.3, total MCAT score 34.0 and GPA of 3.75.

If you want to get admission in University of Michigan Medical
School then your average score for each section of MCAT should be 11.7,
total MCAT score 35.0 and GPA of 3.72.

From the afore-mentioned list you can get an
idea of the score
requirements of various medical schools of USA. Based on that you can
choose the colleges you wish to apply to. You can also understand that
MCAT is undoubtedly a difficult examination, but one that you can
succeed in with hard work and sincerity. Hence, prepare well before you
appear for the examination.